WELCOME TO GERMANY
First steps in a new world of health, insurance an more
Going abroad for a time, to work or to study for instance, involves a lot of commitment, ambition and courage. Yet for all the imponderabilities associated with your move to Germany there‘s one thing you can rely on: you‘re on the safe side over here! This is because you‘ll be enjoying the protection afforded by German social insurance during your stay here. And this social network is, in all modesty, one of the best-performing social systems in the world – Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) is a part of this.
The German system of social security provides comprehensive protection from the vicissitudes of life. It is based on what’s called the principle of solidarity.
This means that each insuree makes a contribution towards financing social security depending on the individual (financial) ability. Having said that, the benefits are always the same for all insurees.
Social security is based on five pillars:
- Health insurance
- Long-term care insurance
- Pension insurance
- Unemployment insurance
- Accident insurance
The video: All around social security – welcome to Germany provides you further information and contributes to better understanding.
Insurance for employees
Almost without exception, German law views employees as requiring particular protection because they depend on their ability to work in order to earn a living. This is why employees are generally ‘automatically’ insured in all five branches of social security (health, long-term care, pension, unemployment and accident insurance).
This is largely a question of so-called compulsory insurance which takes effect immediately upon starting a job. Employees and employers cannot avoid insurance obligation by making an arrangement or signing an agreement.
There are, however, some exceptions, for marginal part-time or temporary jobs or in the case of income above a certain threshold, for example.
Employees – with few exceptions – do not have to take care of insurance cover themselves. However they need to decide which health insurance fund they want cover from. The employer calculates the social security contributions, deducts the employee’s contribution from their salary and pays the collected contributions. The employer also registers employees with their chosen health insurance fund at the start of employment.
TK is always your first and competent contact regarding all questions related to social insurance. This also applies to any questions you may have about long-term care or pension insurance. If we are unable to provide direct assistance in individual cases, you will always be given a specific contact person. Insured like 11 million people in Germany – welcome to TK.
For employers – Here’s to working well together
When you’re introducing new colleagues into a team, what you need is a good team. From the IT specialist, who installs the computer, the HR officer, who prepares all the contracts and certificates, to the many agreeable colleagues, who take the time to answer dozens of questions. And if your new colleagues are coming from abroad, then the to-do list will become even longer and more complicated. Our English-speaking experts will assist you and your international staff with the „health insurance” item.
We’ll take care of things personally
Even before your new colleagues set foot in Germany, they’ll be assigned their personal, English- speaking contact from our team of experts – since everything has to be perfectly organised before they start their new job. We will answer all your questions about membership applications. Registering your new employee as a member of the TK is a quick, easy process: Welcome at TK
